Today is a sad day for The Dearhearts as we announce that our dear Lauren de Graaf has made the decision to no longer continue forward as a member of the band. We are thankful for the past 3 years, and will count them as some of our happiest. As we move forward into all the exciting things these next few months hold, and continue preparing to release our upcoming album, we are grateful for your support and patience as we navigate the growing pains that will undoubtedly accompany this change. We wish Lauren all the successes in the world, and continue to support her as friends.

And so we come to the end of another year. And what a year it has been for us. We're feeling a bit reflective over here, so we'd like to list for you 11 of our favourite moments of 2017:

(In no particular order)

11) Connecting with new friends like The Frontiers. What an incredible group of musicians and creatives to spend time with. We played a total of 3 shows with them over the past 12 months!

10) Playing music in our dear Alix's hometown of Regina in front of a crowd of her friends and family at Living Hope Alliance Church!

9) Inviting the littlest Dearheart (Kaia Rose) up to sing with us at a beautiful house concert just outside Hepburn, SK.

8) Participating in an incredible songwriting weekend intensive full of connection and collaboration with our producer and friend Paul Zacharias. Little known fact - 2 of the songs on our new album are a direct result of that weekend.

7) Watching our girl Alix flex her musical theatre muscles on stage as Percy in Rosebud Theatre's production of The Spitfire Grill.

6) Sharing the stage with one of our favourite songwriters, John Wort Hannam in Strathmore, AB.

5) Playing at the Calgary Stampede's Window on the West Showcase.

4) Dressing up and and updating all our promotional content! Cheers to photoshoots!

3) Playing a teaser showcase of all our new material for our dearest friends and family in the form of an intimate concert in our hometown of Rosebud, AB.

2) Recording our first ever music video with the incredibly talented and fun duo - Gio and Holly Mocibob!

1) And last, but certainly not least, recording our second full length album to be released early in Spring 2018. This process was all we hoped it would be and more. We are incredibly proud of the music we have created, and so excited to share it with you all.

2017 was a year of growth, collaboration, and creativity. We are constantly working to evolve our art until it is the clearest reflection of who we are as musicians and human beings figuring out this big, complicated, beautiful world. Thanks for sticking with us, friends. We can't wait to spend 2018 with you all!